Electric discharge device



1936- T. DIMOND ELECTRIC DISCHARGE DEVICE Filed April 10, 1935 uv l/ENTOR By TfLD/MQ/VD A TTOR/VEY' Patented May 5, 1936 UNHTED STATES rear r-FICE ELECTRIC DISCHARGE DEVICE Thomas L. Dimond, Rutherford, N. J., assignor to Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 10, 1935, Serial No. 15,539

6 Claims. (Cl. 25027.5)

This invention relates to electric discharge destem which terminates in a multi-armed press 12. vices and more particularly to such devices of the An insulating base I3 is suitably secured to the cold cathode type and wherein the initiation of end of the enclosing vessel adjacent the stem and a discharge between the cathode and another carries a plurality of terminal prongs [4 through 5 electrode is controlled by the potential of a third which the cathode and the control electrodes of 5 electrode. the device may be associated with external cir- One object of this invention is to enable and to cuits. expedite the automatic connection of each of a Arigid metallic support or rod l5 extends from plurality of lines individually to another line. the center of the press l2 and carries a cathode More specifically an object of this invention is to It, which may be of the cold type and, as shown 10 enable and to expedite the automatic connection more clearly in Fig. 2, may be in the form of a of each of a plurality of telephone subscribers circular plate or disc. The rod l5 may be eleclines to a line including a line-finder in automatic trically connected to one of the terminal prongs telephone systems. l4 and forms a part of the lead-in to the cathode.

In one illustrative embodiment of this inven- An anode is disposedin cooperative relation to tion, an electric discharge device comprises an and coaxial with the cathode l6 and may consist enclosing vessel having an ionizable medium, for of a metallic rod ll sealed in the end of the vessel example a gas such as a mixture of neon and H3 remote from the stem and having its inner end argon, therein. The vessel encloses a cold cathdirected toward the cathode.

2O ode, an anode, and a plurality of control elec- The cathode 16 is encompassed by a plurality 20 trodes. The cathode may be in the form of a of control electrodes I8, each of which may concircular disc and the control electrodes may be sist of a metallic rod embedded in one of the arms rods disposed about the periphery of the cathode of the press l2 and may have a bent end 19 and each having an end bent toward the cathode, directed inwardly toward the cathode. The sevthe several control electrodes being sufficiently eral control electrodes I8 preferably are uni- 25 spaced from each other so that the fields thereof formly spaced from each other and at a distance do not overlap. sufiiciently great to prevent material interaction Each of the control electrodes may be used as of the fields thereof. Each control electrode is a trigger to initiate a discharge between the cathelectrically connected to a corresponding one of ode and the anode. For example, as shown and the terminal prongs I4. 30 described in my copending application Serial No. The several control electrodes may be shielded 735,758, filed July 18, 1934, each of the control from one another by insulating or metallic electrodes may be connected to a subscribers line screens disposed between adjacent control elecand the anode may be connected in circuit with trodes. Such screens may be supported from the a line-finder. When a subscriber at one station stem or may be supported individually from the 35 makes a call, a suitable potential is impressed control electrodes. upon the control electrode corresponding to the. The several control electrodes l8 may be utistation, to cause breakdown of the discharge delized independently as trigger controls to initiate vice and thereby to connect the station to the linea discharge between the cathode l6 and the anode finder circuit. l1. Thus, if a potential less than the breakdown The invention and the features thereof will be or ionization potential of the ionizable medium or understood more clearly and full from the folgas in the vessel I0 is applied between the cathlowing detailed description with reference to the ode and anode, no current will flow in a circuit accompanying drawing in which: connected between the cathode and anode until Fig. 1 is a perspective View of an electric disa critical potential sufficient to cause ionization 45 charge device illustrative of one embodiment of is impressed upon one of the control electrodes. this invention, a portion of the enclosing vessel Hence, the electric discharge device in accordance being broken away to show the cathode and conwith this invention may be utilized for closing a trol electrodes more clearly; and circuit, such as a line finder circuit in automatic Fig. 2 is a top view of the cathode and the contelephone systems connected between the anode 50 trol electrodes showing the configuration and disl1 and the cathode l6, through the agency of position thereof. any one of a number of other circuits, such as Referring now to the drawing, the electric discircuits each including a telephone substation, charge device there illustrated comprises an enconnected between the control electrodes l8 and.

closing vessel l0 having an inwardly extending the cathode I6. 55

In one embodiment of the invention, the ionizable medium may be a mixture of neon and argon, at a pressure of mm. the argon constituting about one per cent of the mixture, the anode may be spaced of the order of one inch from the cathode, and the several control electrodes may be spaced from the cathode of the order of 1/64 of an inch. In operating such a device the anode potential may be approximately 150 volts or more, and the control electrode potential necessary to initiate a discharge would be approximately volts.

Although the invention has been illustrated embodied in a device having four control electrodes, it may be embodied in devices having a greater or lesser number of control electrodes. Moreover, although the control electrodes l 8 have been shown as equally spaced from the cathode I6, they may be spaced unequally therefrom so that the critical control electrode potentials are different. Furthermore, it will be understood that various modifications may be made in the specific embodiment of the invention shown and described without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A trigger device comprising an enclosing vessel having a filling of argon, a cathode, an anode, and a plurality of control electrodes disposed about said cathode and equally spaced therefrom.

2. A gaseous discharge device comprising a disc cathode, an anode, and a plurality of control electrodes disposed about the periphery of said cathode. r

3. A trigger device comprising an enclosing vessel having a filling of argon, a cold disc cathode, an anode, and a plurality of control electrodes disposed about the periphery of said cathode.

4. A gaseous discharge device comprising a disc cathode, an anode in cooperative relation with said cathode, and a plurality of rod control electrodes disposed about the periphery of said cathode and each having an end directed toward said cathode.

5. A trigger device comprising an enclosing vessel having a gaseous filling, a circular disc cold cathode, a rod anode having one end directed toward said cathode, and a plurality of rod control electrodes disposed about the periphery of said cathode and each having an end directed toward said cathode.

6. An electric discharge device comprising an enclosing vessel having a gas therein and having a stem terminating in a multi-armed press, a support extending from said stem, a. disc cold cathode carried by said rod, a rod anode sealed in said enclosing vessel and having one end directed toward said cathode, and a plurality of control electrodes disposed about said cathode, each of said control electrodes being a rod embedded in one of the arms of said press and having its inner end bent toward said cathode.

THOMAS L. DIMQND. 

